Niall Horan must be feeling pretty good about himself right now.
When the members of One Direction inevitably splintered off in their own directions, the Irishman, like his former bandmates, embarked on a solo career. He’s now three albums in, with three consecutive No. 1s on Billboard’s Top Album Sales, and three top 10s on the all-genres Billboard 200 chart, including a No. 1 for his 2017 debut solo effort Flicker.
He’s gone one better in the U.K., where his sophomore album Heartbreak Weather (from 2020) and his third and most recent LP, 2023’s The Show, both spent time at No. 1.
For the cherry on top, Horan stepped into a full-time coach’s role on season 23 of NBC’s The Voice, and immediately walked away a winner, thanks to 19-year-old contestant Gina Miles.
The luck of the Irish, perhaps.
Horan has more where that came from. After The Show, the Encore: a deluxe edition featuring nine bonus tracks. Slated for release Nov. 3 via Capitol Records, the expanded version of The Show includes a collaboration with “Ceilings” singer Lizzy McAlpine on a new version of “You Could Start A Cult,” which dropped at the stroke of midnight.
When the full package arrives, expect a collaboration with rival The Voice coach John Legend on a reimagined version of the title track, plus live recordings from the Electric Picnic festival and Spotify Studios, along with alternate versions of “Meltdown” and “On A Night Like Tonight” from Horan’s Vevo Extended Play session.
Vinyl and CD editions will follow on April 5, 2024, and a 2-LP vinyl edition of The Show: The Encore, which includes a 72-page hardcover 12” x 12” book, is available to pre-order at his official website.
There’ll be more Horan to go around next year, when the pop singer embarks on an international tour in support of his third LP, playing more than 80 dates, including two shows at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Before that, he’ll perform at 93.3 FLZ Jingle Ball – Tampa (Nov. 26) and 102.7 KIIS FM Jingle Ball – Los Angeles (Dec. 1).
Stream “You Could Start A Cult” with Lizzy McAlpine below.
“The Show: The Encore” tracklist:
Heaven
If You Leave Me
Meltdown
Never Grow Up
The Show
You Could Start A Cult
Save My Life
On A Night Like Tonight
Science
Must Be Love
You Could Start A Cult (with Lizzy McAlpine)
The Show (with John Legend)
Heaven (Live from Electric Picnic)
If You Leave Me / Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Live from Electric Picnic)
Meltdown (Vevo Extended Play)
Save My Life (Live from Electric Picnic)
On A Night Like Tonight (Vevo Extended Play)
Science (Live from Spotify Studios)
Something In The Orange (Live from Spotify Studios)